World Mobile Entertainment Revenues to Reach US$67.6 Billion by 2018, According to New Report by Global Industry Analysts, Inc.

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GIA announces the release of a comprehensive global report on the Mobile Entertainment markets. The global market for Mobile Entertainment is forecast to reach US$67.6 billion by the year 2018, driven by insatiable consumer appetite for entertainment on the move and the widespread penetration of mobile phones, smartphones, and other portable devices. Technological advancements in handset technology, expansion in mobile communications infrastructure, and favorable regulatory environment are setting the stage for unprecedented growth in the Mobile Entertainment space in the near future.

Mobile Entertainment: A Global Strategic Business Report

San Jose, CA (PRWEB)August 23, 2012

Follow us on LinkedIn – Mobile Entertainment is a broad term encompassing a wide range of leisure activities undertaken on personal mobile handsets, with potential monetary value. Mobile entertainment market presently has moved beyond the traditional staples such as ringtones and logos, into a full-fledged entertainment service providing diverse industry offerings such as mobile TV, music, games, gambling, and adult content, among others. All largely possible due to rapidly evolving technology, growing adoption of web enabled devices such as smartphones and the launch of 2.5G and 3G networks across geographies. The demographic pattern of the mobile entertainment is evolving, with the market expanding beyond the main youth segment to other age-groups, while segments such as mobile gaming no longer remain a sole male bastion. The growth of the sector is primarily pegged to the expanding penetration of feature phones, smartphones, tablets, and other portable communication devices that offer rich user experience and advanced capabilities.

Significant improvements in mobile communication infrastructure are also playing a major role in raising the benchmark for content creation and delivery. The era of app stores heralded by the advent of Apple’s iStores revolutionized the way mobile content is distributed and accessed, providing content creators a platform for more effective marketing and monetization of products and services. While advertising generates the bulk of revenues in the mobile entertainment space, advertisers are experimenting with other business models, such as licensing, micro-transactions/virtual payments and freemium.

Mobile music retains leadership status as the dominant and most promising segment in the Mobile Entertainment space, with ringtones and ringback tones giving way to full-track downloads and audio streaming services. While sideloading remains the most preferred modus of receiving and transferring music content denting the prospects for OTA purchases, app stores and online music websites are gaining in popularity with each moment. Cloud computing is also expected to emerge as a game changer in the near term, catalyzing a massive exodus from physical music storage devices to cloud storage. The mobile music industry is gradually breaking free of the shackles of the DRM environment, despite rampant digital piracy. Mobile gaming is another segment which has and will continue to hold immense potential in the mobile entertainment landscape. Mobile Gaming fervor spread from Japan to Western economies, and is catching on fast in Asian economies as well. Utilization of J2ME and BREW platforms for mobile game development facilitates considerable cross-platform compatibility. Technologically advanced mobile handsets and smartphones are challenging the dominion of traditional video game consoles, home gaming stations and PC games. Asia-Pacific region along with Japan are the key contributing regions in the mobile entertainment space. Countries such as China, with a robust ringback tone market along with Japan and Korea, which boast of strong mobile music, gaming and gambling segments, are some of the key contributors in the region.

Revenues from other underserved segments such as UGC, adult content, mobile TV and gambling are expected to rise sharply in the near term. The market for Mobile TV inclusive of video streaming and VOD content, gathered momentum following the introduction of television services on mobile phones. The segment however failed to take off in the mass market due to the lack of quality program transmission, dearth of portable devices, and the inadequacies of network infrastructure. The scenario is set to change with more countries migrating to MediaFlo and DVB-H broadcasts, and adopting next generation 4G LTE and WiMax bandwidth. On the other hand, despite strong demand, Mobile Adult Content remains subdued in the grip of social taboos and stringent regulations, in most geographic markets. Demand for video chat services, primarily in Latin American and European countries, is driving growth in the global adult content segment.

User-generated Content (UGC) is the fastest growing segment, primarily due to the viral popularity of social media forums such as Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Match.com and others. Facebook triggered a revolution by foraying into the casual games segment with the introduction of Zynga’s Farmville game on its social media platform. While Europe remains the hub for Mobile Gambling, the sector is set for explosive growth worldwide in the near term due to the loosening of regulatory controls in the United States and select Asia-Pacific economies.

Vibrant markets such as Asia-Pacific and Europe make up the bulk of the mobile entertainment market, capturing a major share worldwide, as stated by the new research report on Mobile Entertainment. Developing markets such as Asia-Pacific and Latin America present tremendous opportunities in the short to medium term period, given the significant investments the markets have been witnessing in developing their mobile communications infrastructure. Asia-Pacific, buoyed by emerging markets such as India and China, will continue to invest significantly in mobile communications sector, backed by fast paced industrial development and huge demand from outsourced contact centers. Given this backdrop, the Asian market is projected to surge ahead at a substantial growth rate of about 15% through 2018.

Global Industry Analysts, Inc., (GIA) is a leading publisher of off-the-shelf market research. Founded in 1987, the company currently employs over 800 people worldwide. Annually, GIA publishes more than 1300 full-scale research reports and analyzes 40,000+ market and technology trends while monitoring more than 126,000 Companies worldwide. Serving over 9500 clients in 27 countries, GIA is recognized today, as one of the world's largest and reputed market research firms.